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the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission(SFPUC). BAWUA was comprised of 29 agencies in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. It served 1.5 million residential customers and over 460 square miles. The current allocation to the Purissima Hills Water District, a member of BAWUA, was established in the 1984 Master Contract and was based on 1981 usage. Mr. Walter stated that it is not a question of if a drought will occur but when it will happen. The SFPUC can impose penalty rates to meet demand in drought years and expensive landscaping can be lost. He noted that the following management practices were in place: residential water survey programs; system water audits, leak detection and repair; metering with commodity rates;public information programs; school education programs; and conservation prices. Another management practice which they hoped to get in place with the Council's assistance was large landscape conservation programs and incentives. Joan Cassman, attorney, stated that the Water District did not have land use regulatory power. They did have facility controls such as use of restrictors or economic controls such as pricing. There also appeared to be two available approaches. Presently they worked with individual owners on their landscaping needs and water usage. The other approach would be for the Town to pass a landscaping ordinance. She referred to the 1990 Landscaping Act(AB 325) which required every city to adopt and enforce the water efficient landscape model ordinance (developed by the Department of Water Resources) by January 1993 unless the city had adopted an alternative water efficient landscape ordinance or the city had adopted findings that a water efficient landscape ordinance was unnecessary (based on geological climatic,topographical or water availability reasons). Ms. Cassman further commented on the model ordinance. She noted that the express purposes of the ordinance were: to promote the values and benefits of landscapes while • recognizing the need to invest water and other resoures as efficiently as possible; to establish a structure of designing, installing and maintaining water efficient landscapes in new projects; and to establish provisions for water management practices and water waste prevention for established landscapes. For existing landscapes the model ordinance required that the city shall establish regulations to prevent water waste; impose penalties for violations of regulations; and provide for a landscape irrigation audit for public areas every 5 years. For new or rehabilitated landscapes the model ordinance would apply to any private development single-family project with a landscaped area of 2,500+ square feet requiring a permit; would exempt'homeowner-provided landscaping'; would require the submittal of a landscape documentation package; and would require the certification of the final landscape installation by a licensed professional. The requirements for the landscape documentation package included the following: maximum applied water allowance; estimated applied water use; landscape design plan for plant selection, grouping and water features; irrigation design plan to meet specified runoff, overspray and efficiency standards; maintenance and irrigation schedules to satisfy specified requirements; and grading design plan with soils analysis. Ms. Cassman noted that the benefits of implementing such an ordinance included the following: protection of landscaping investments, creation of a politically beneficial Town perception; and access to new water sources. Council discussed the proposed landscaping ordinance as presented by the Purissima Hills Water District. They questioned why the Board did not impose such regulations as they too were an elected body. Dauber suggested that projects be sent to the Water District for comment and review such as they were now sent to the Fire Department. Casey and Finn believed that any requirements should be imposed on all residents and not just those going through for example a remodel. Casey also stated that a Town-wide • June 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting 2